Integrating African indigenous knowledge systems: Towards a bi-system curriculum in

the academia

Taiwo Oloruntoba-Oju

University of Ilorin & University of Chemnitz

ttobaoju@unilorin.edu.ng; taiwo.hrz@tu-chemnitz.de

DRAFT (PLEASE CITE PROVISIONALLY)

Abstract

A major challenge facing indigenous knowledge systems in general, and African indigenous

knowledge systems in particular, is the identification and codification of those elements that

can be said to properly constitute the systems, and the establishment of modalities for their

interaction with universal, or modern, knowledge systems. It is not just enough to assert the

existence or significance of indigenous knowledge, but rather essential to demonstrate these

empirically and methodically, more so in the face of contestations of their validity. Within the

context of the paper being proposed here, it is only when such codification or identification is

accomplished that indigenous knowledge systems can be integrated with modern knowledge

systems and the associated educational curricular. Such integration within academic

curricular is a necessary step towards creating bigger facilities, including institutes or

institutions to advance indigenous knowledge systems.

However, a related challenge is the continued rejection by many Africans of indigenous

sources of knowledge and wisdom. Many African institutions cite ‘obsoleteness’ and ‘the

need to move forward’ to obstruct the integration of indigenous knowledge systems within

their curricular. At faculty levels, such obstructions sometimes take the form of resistance to

interdisciplinary cross-fertilisation, especially where such involves partnering with indigenous

knowledge systems. For example (and this is not wholly hypothetical), a student in a

Department of English attempting to defend a thesis proposal on the use of Yoruba proverbs

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or other oral philosophical corpora such as the Ifa (divination) corpus in the resolution of

conflicts or disputes in African literature might get asked: ‘why Yoruba proverbs? – this is a

department of English!’ Yet, the application of Hegelian or Marxian formulations

(originally in German), or of Aristotelian or Socratic principles (originally Greek), attracts

no such sanction.

Programmes such as language nesting, bilingual education and inclusive curriculum have

been established in a number of indigenous knowledge initiative centres in Africa in the

attempt to build indigenous knowledge capacities. This paper is concerned with language as a

veritable source of indigenous knowledge but also as a medium for the integration of

indigenous knowledge and universal knowledge systems within academic curricular. It is

well established that official policies do shape popular attitudes. The paper attempts to

harvest indigenous knowledge policies and experiences within language and philosophy

based departments in selected Nigerian universities, and proposes a bilingual curricular with

an objective to create a subject place for indigenous knowledge systems within the academy.

Keywords: decoloniality, African indigenous knowledge, language, curriculum

Rationale for insistence on the integration of indigenous knowledge

The need for the integration of indigenous knowledge is affirmed from both functional

factors, i.e. the sheer utilitarian value for African citizens and potentially for the whole

world, and from psychological or affective (feel good) factors, which also reverberate on

functionality. Both factors speak to the need to secure “a subject place for Africa” (Asante

2007), or to “secure the base” (wa Thiong’O 2016), or an attempt, albeit considered by some

ambiguous, to “demarcate and bolster an African identity and sphere of life and action”

(Crossman and Nevesch 2002, p. 98). The definition of indigenous knowledge proffered by

UNESCO hints at the twin objective object noted above: one aspect of this is to ensure the

inclusion of indigenous knowledge in “global science and policy processes,” while the other

is to foster engagement with scientists internationally, with the ultimate aim of furthering

understandings of indigenous

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conditions, with respect to, for example, “climate change impacts, adaptation

and mitigation.”1

However, many definitions of indigenous, or endogenous, knowledge,2 fail, just like the

UNESCO one above, to factor in the demand of decoloniality and the benefits to be

derived therefrom.

This paper is interested in the enactment or enablement of policies that would lead to the

systematic integration of the indigenous knowledge in the Nigerian university curriculum. As

with most parts of Africa, the curriculum is largely, if not wholly westernised, or driven by

western theories, values and methodologies, leading to the loss of information or knowledge

that is of value to immediate local communities, and potentially of value to the whole world

in areas such as medicine, agriculture, the sciences in general, as well as language, art,

philosophy, jurisprudence, indeed, the humanities in general. There are also affective issues in

terms of loss of sense of identity and pride. These are gaps, which policies that enable the

integration of indigenous knowledge can attempt to resolve.

In the following sections, I look at this twin pattern of imposition of western knowledge systems

and silencing of indigenous knowledge systems, especially within the curriculum in higher

institutions, that is to say, the ways in which indigenous knowledge has been submerged in the

Nigerian academy. I also consider what I call a “bi-system curriculum” that can help to

systematically integrate indigenous knowledge systems with the curriculum. As a background to

the research, I would like to understand the trajectory of indigenous knowledge in representative

institutions; whether such a policy exists at all, at what levels, who were the initiators and what

was their vision; what has been the progress, the nature of the knowledge

1 https://en.unesco.org/links 2 As I elaborate later, it is possible to use the term “indigenous knowledge” and the transformed term “endogenous knowledge” (Crossman & Neveschi, 2002) interchangeably, for reasons that I will elaborate on shortly.

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and its potential to attain international reckoning and impact the universal store of

knowledge in these areas.

Definitional issues

The projection or promotion of indigenous knowledge must begin with its definition.

However, definitions of indigenous knowledge are often inherently contrastive, and

ultimately belittling relative to the definitions of what constitutes western or “universal”

knowledge. Thus, in contrast to western scientific knowledge, the definitions of local

knowledge have revolved around principles such as nature, culture, rurality,

environmentalism, orality. These features parallel the definition by UNESCO, which I

partially cited above, that “local and indigenous knowledge refers to the understandings, skills

and philosophies developed by societies with long histories of interaction with their natural

surroundings” (UNESCO LINKS). The definitions have often derived from ILO and UN

concepts of indigeneity itself.

The rejection of the term “indigenous” by Crossman & Nevisch above would seem predicated

on its implication of an original or autochthonous holding; that is, the indigenous appears to

belong to original inhabitants, whereas endogenous refers to “development determined by

innate resources” and emphasizes “dynamic growth process” (p. 99). A major and valid

criticism many definitions of indigenous knowledge as sampled above is therefore the

continued negative naming and terminological inferiorisation of African knowledge, via

notions of localization and non-scientificity, and other inherently contrastive emphases, such

as “nature” and “spirituality,” that are based on a negative comparison with western

knowledge. “Africanisation of knowledge is basically a call to place the African worldview at

the centre of analysis and recognition that there are different pyramids for the construction of

knowledge none of which should be regarded as inferior.”

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Role of language

The route to the muting of African Indigenous knowledge has been by muting the associated

language. The aspect of language is important and should be emphasised. I take it as

axiomatic that language is the gateway to indigenous knowledge, or to any knowledge for

that matter. Colonialism and neocolonialism work to foster an attitude of rejection of

indigenous languages and simultaneously, an immersion in the colonial language, knowledge

and history. The attitude of embracing colonial knowledge systems accords well with the

Frantz Fanon’s dictum on the obsession of the colonised with the canons of the oppressor at

the expense of his own learning and culture, which they whimsically abandon; and more to

the linguistic perspective, wa Thiong’O’s dictum that the colonization of the “mental

universe” of colonized people’s was facilitated by “the domination [of their] languages”.

The absence of indigenous linguistic agency in the education sector, as in the case in most

African countries, deprives the countries of the knowledge that come with their indigenous

languages. I also find the non-extremist view of linguistic relativism to be relevant at this

point, that is, the principle that languages reflect different habits of cognition and different

experiential values.

In the following tables, I compare a number of concepts relating to the domain of education,

as conveyed through three words in English, for example, “curriculum”, “education” and

“teacher” and the equivalent words in German, Lehrplan, Bildung, and Lehrer. I also, for the

purpose of cross-referencing, compare the word for “teacher” in Dutch, onderwijzer.

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TABLE 1: ILLUSTRATION OF HOW LANGUAGE DRIVES INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

Term/ Definitions/Origins (from Wikipedia) Concept

REPRESENTATIONS DRIVEN BY LANGUAGE ENGLISH GERMAN Back Translation from

German “CURRICULUM” “LEHRPLAN”

Curriculum In education, a curriculum (/kəˈrɪkjʊləm/; plural curricula /kəˈrɪkjʊlə/ or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experiences in terms of the educator's or school's instructional goals.

Der Lehrplan fasst The curriculum Lerninhalte und Lernziele systematically

nach Schultypen und summarizes learning

Schuljahr systematisch content and learning zusammen. Ein Curriculum objectives according to umfasst darüber hinaus das school type and school ganze Konzept der Lehr- year. A curriculum also und Erziehungsmethoden encompasses the entire sowie die Zielsetzungen concept of teaching and

einer Bildungseinrichtung. educational methods as well as the objectives of an educational institution.

The word "curriculum" began as a Dem Lehrplan ging der The curriculum was Latin word which means "a race" Bildungskanon voraus, mit preceded by the or "the course of a race" (which in dem der zu vermittelnde educational canon, with turn derives from the verb currere Wissensbestand einer which the knowledge to meaning "to run/to proceed"). The Kultur festgelegt wurde. Die be conveyed in a culture word is "from a Modern Latin erste große europäische was determined. The transferred use of classical Latin Schulreformbewegung der first major European curriculum "a running, course, Neuzeit ging von den Ideen school reform career" (also "a fast chariot, racing Jean-Jacques Rousseaus movement of the car"), from currere "to run" (from aus, der das Studium der modern age started PIE root *kers- "to run")." The first Realien, der Natur und der from the ideas of Jean- known use in an educational Lebensumwelten als Jacques Rousseau, who context is in the Professio Regia, a Lernprogramm ins Spiel brought the study of

work by University of Paris brachte. Bei der realities, nature and professor Petrus Ramus published Eigentlichen living environments posthumously in 1576. The term Kanonkontroverse, an dem into play as a learning subsequently appears in University sich kontroverse program. The actual of Leiden records in 1582. The Erziehungsprogramme canon controversy, to word's origins appear closely linked festmachten, ging es um die which controversial

to the Calvinist desire to bring Stellung des Latein und der educational programs greater order to education. alten Sprachen. Bei der were attached, neuhumanistischen concerned the position Bildungsreform von of Latin and the ancient Wilhelm von Humboldt languages. In Wilhelm umfasste der Kanon des von Humboldt's neo- Lernens (Süvernscher humanist educational Lehrplan von 1810/16 für reform, the canon of die preußischen learning (Süvern's Gymnasien) Latein, curriculum from Griechisch, Deutsch, 1810/16 for the Hebräisch, Mathematik, Prussian grammar Realien, Religion, schools) comprised Schönschreiben sowie Latin, Greek, German, Gesang und Sport. Hebrew, mathematics, realism, religion, calligraphy as well as singing and sports.

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The illustration shows different representations of the same concepts through the agency of

language. The words used in the different languages signal different strategies of naming and

of knowing, as far as those words are concerned. In one language, the term “curriculum”

appears semantically unmotivated in relation to the experience it describes, such that the

knowledge of the word is operated by means of a meaning transfer and is apprehended

(metaphorically) – from the “course of race” to the running of an educational course; on the

other hand, the term in the other language, Lehrplan, directly apprehends the experience, its

agents and the concrete associated practices – “the plan used by a teacher” presumably in a

classroom.

What the various illustrations above demonstrate, in summary, is how knowledge is

represented in language and how language in turn drives the pursuit and representation of

knowledge, hence the absence of linguistic agency deprives communities of indigenous

knowledge. Assuming a colonised Germany or Netherlands having to access knowledge

only through English, the specific knowledge demonstrated above, which are otherwise

derivable through the impetus of indigenous linguistic agency, simply vanishes.

Another important issue demonstrated here therefore is the fallacy of “universal knowledge”

or a collective “western knowledge.” Again, the knowledges represented in each column in

the above tables are primarily local, drawn from the local environment, history and

experience. While there are universal principles of knowledge governing lexical output, or

derivable from the so called local output, the power asymmetry between different regions of

the world has led to the appropriation and imposition of so called universalism by the west

(see also Hountondji 2002; Kaya 2014).

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Problems of and efforts at integrating AIKS in the curriculum

The problem with the integration of regard to African Indigenous Knowledge Systems as

noted earlier is the immersion of the education system and education policy in the colonial

system. Some of the related problems include the following:

Continued appropriation or suppression of indigenous African holdings through power

asymmetry and the principles of globalisation

Absence of linguistic agency

- Receding communal memory

- Absence of policy and institutional frameworks or clear guidelines for the integration

of indigenous knowledge systems

Neo-colonial agency – residual army of colonial

education

“M Juxtaposition”

Modes of “integration” of indigenous knowledge

Institutionalizing indigenous knowledge systems for development in Africa should start with

an understanding of knowledge development goals, which include the establishment of local

knowledge competencies and partnering with global knowledge concerns (see Cummings et

al, 2019), and by establishing it as a common goal that is necessary for the development of the

continent. It is assumed that the academia has a vanguard role to play as belonging to the

educated elite that is supposed to galvanise development. The task of the indigenous

academy, Fatnowna and Pickett (2002) note, is to “engage in the continuing process of

making knowledge explicit, accessible and organised, within systems of shared understanding

and applications in practice” (p. 209). Within the context of this paper, the task is to make

indigenous knowledge available and synthesise it with other available knowledges.

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Different modes of the attempt to achieve consciousness of indigenous knowledge and

integrate same within the community in Africa have been identified, including use of

educational materials with socio-cultural relevance and creation of IKS centres. However,

within Africa, efforts to place indigenous languages systematically on the appropriate pedestal

for integration with the existing colonial system have been stultified due to the entrenchment

of colonial system and immersion of operators of the African system in western worldviews

and methodologies. Many African institutions typically reject indigenous sources of

knowledge and wisdom, citing 'obsoleteness' and 'the need to move forward' to obstruct the

integration of indigenous knowledge systems within their curricular.

A Bi-system approach

By bi-system approach, I mean a system of immersion that integrates indigenous knowledge

systems with foreign or international knowledge systems, with the goal of securing a

knowledge space for the indigenous system within the curriculum, thereby enriching the

overall curriculum and the corresponding systems of knowledge. The corresponding

activation of interest in the indigenous knowledge ultimately leads to a quantum leap in the

development of indigenous knowledge systems, and to transformations in the respective

areas of knowledge.

The bi-system approach anticipates an egalitarian amalgam of knowledge sources and

knowledge goals as against the hierarchic transmission of just the colonial knowledge system

in an indigenous language. It accommodates the two dueling systems, indigenous or non-

indigenous. A model of accommodation is necessary to avoid extreme hostility to indigenous

knowledge innovations and the absence of indigenous manpower.

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For example, within the Nigerian education system, not only is there no concrete policy of

promoting or integrating indigenous knowledge, there is rather, in the related document, the

National Education Policy, explicit statements tying the entire sector to globalist trends.

The policy document has it that:

Nigeria like most other countries of the world is undergoing rapid social, economic

and political reforms. The impetus for these changes is fuelled by the nation’s

commitment to such international goals of development such as the Education for

All (EFA), the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and our own home-grown

National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS) I and II that

recognizes education as a means of empowering the people for the attainment of the

nation’s developmental plans and targets. (Nigeria National Education Policy 2014)

Not only is the country’s educational objective subordinated to general international goals

(which are couched at least as a primary concern above), but also that, as shown below,

the tokenist addition of “our home-grown NEEDS” does not include a concern for

indigenous knowledge production. Rather it is couched as:

(i) an aggregate tool of empowerment for the poor, and the socially marginalized

groups;

(ii) an effective means of developing the full capacities and potentials of

human resources, as well (sic)

(iii) the development of competent workforce through the acquisition of practical

skills relevant to the world of work as a veritable means of developing sound

intelligent learning societies, fit and relevant to the 21st

century

Indeed, nowhere in the entire document does the term “indigenous knowledge” occur. It is not

surprising that the battle cry of indigenous knowledge production is not heard very much within

this vast terrain.

How then do we integrate indigenous knowledge within the bi-system approach? The first

enemy of indigenous knowledge integration therefore is the absence of an enabling policy.

The first port of call in the attempt to integrate the production of indigenous knowledge is

to enact policies to create an awareness of this need. Integrating indigenous knowledge and

knowledge systems within the curriculum necessarily involves a triple process of policy

intervention, attitudinal change and methodical innovations. Colonially minded academics

need to be aware or be made aware of the necessity for change, which requires both training

and a certain degree of persuasive push, through policies that authorize the process.

Further to policy enactment is the will to implement. Experience with the Nigerian language

policy, which has always been embedded in the education policy shows that implementation is

a problem. The policy of using indigenous language at certain levels of education in the country

is often ambiguous, but even where it is clear, it is either not implemented at all or it is

implemented haphazardly or half-heartedly. Policies must therefore be accompanied by

appropriate implementation strategies that would include a systemic monitoring of the process.

Inclusion, juxtaposition and synthesis (IJS) are the hallmarks of this system.

Conclusion

The task of integrating indigenous knowledge content in the curriculum in African institutions is

clearly an enormous one. Colonial education is deeply rooted and ingrained in the collective

consciousness which includes the leadership and authorities at various levels of engagement.

From the ruling authorities to the university administrators to the lecturers and even the

students, it is colonial education down the line. Colonial education in Africa therefore has

an “army” that is populous, committed, well trained, well equipped and well connected. By

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contrast, those who have enlisted in the “army” of indigenous knowledge and indigenous

languages are a distinct minority. Since academics must however constitute a core part of the

building block of indigenous knowledge integration, the task requires their commitment;

decolonising the academic mind is therefore an important first step in the effort to integrate

indigenous knowledge systems in the curricular of African institutions.

References (to be supplied)

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